District court roundup: Back in jail; not guilty to stealing car; partner assault; sentenced for assault

A woman who was arrested for leading Butte police on a dangerous high-speed chase in May and later broke bail conditions was behind bars again Thursday with bond now set at $50,000.

A new warrant was issued for Tanisha Marie James, 20, on Aug. 18 after prosecutors say she broke numerous bail conditions, including GPS monitoring and drug-screening requirements.

Police recognized James while doing a routine walk-through in Lucky Lil’s Casino at 521 S. Montana St. and arrested her late Wednesday night. On Thursday, District Judge Kurt Krueger reset bail at $50,000. She is charged with five felonies, including theft, possession of dangerous drugs, and three counts of criminal endangerment.

On May 17, a Bozeman detective told Butte police to be on the lookout for James in a stolen 2008 GMC Sierra. She was spotted in the car later that day on Porphyry Street and sped away from police.

She almost struck other cars then hit Gillam’s Furniture Emporium at 1100 Front St., damaging the building and losing a tire. The chase continued before her car stopped on Harrison Avenue near the Civic Center and she was arrested.

She was later released on her own recognizance pending further court proceedings but was ordered to wear a GPS device and report for drug screening.

Her public defender asked Krueger on Thursday to consider additional bail conditions that would allow her to remain free, saying she was involved in divorce proceedings and was scheduled to visit with her child Friday.

But Deputy County Attorney Anne Shea said James had tried to remove her GPS device almost immediately after her release last time then let its batteries run down.

“She has not demonstrated she can follow any conditions,” she told Krueger, who agreed with her recommendation for $50,000 bond and said he would set another court hearing later.

NOT GUILTY TO STEALING, CRASHING CAR

A man accused of driving off in someone else’s car, crashing it into a fence at Koprivica Park, and then running from police pleaded not guilty in Butte district court Thursday to two felony charges and one misdemeanor.

Krueger then ordered that Brendan Lee White remain in jail with bond set at $15,000.

Police say White was banging on the door of a house on the 800 block of South Main Street on July 30. A woman drove up, left her car running, and went inside the house, and White started jumping up and down on the roof of the car before taking off in it.

At one point he crashed into a fence at Koprivica Park off of Second Street. When spotted on foot shortly afterward, White took off a plastic motocross chest-protector vest, threw it at an officer, and ran, police said. He was later arrested.

He is charged with misdemeanor theft and felony assault with a weapon and criminal mischief. The next court hearing was set for Oct. 5.

PARTNER ASSAULT

A man pleaded not guilty to felony partner/family member assault for allegedly throwing and pushing his girlfriend and dragging her by her hair, ripping some of it from her scalp.

David Joseph Bustle, 53, remains free on $10,000 bond with the next hearing set Oct. 5. The charge is a felony because it was his third or subsequent offense for partner assault.

Prosecutors say Bustle accused his girlfriend on July 27 of cheating on him, threw something that hit her in the eye, threw her to the ground, and then dragged her by the hair into a bedroom.

The woman was able to escape from the house on the 2000 block of California Street and make it to a neighbor’s house to call police.

SENTENCED FOR ASSAULT

District Judge Brad Newman gave Joshua David Whaley a suspended six-month sentence for going into his ex-girlfriend’s house on Oct. 22 last year and punching a man while he slept.

Whaley already had served 84 days in jail, so the suspended sentence will only last for about three more months. Whaley will remain free with only minimal probation supervision.

He was originally charged with aggravated felony burglary, but prosecutors reduced it to a misdemeanor assault charge that Whaley pleaded guilty to Thursday in Butte district court.

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